children of men sci-fi

V for Vendetta thriller

Essay

Thesis

Inspired by Guy Fawkes, and driven by revenge, revolutionary terrorist V stands up to the fascist totalitarian government; influencing the citizens of Britain to band together to make a stand and causing Evey to become a strong and independent woman who goes on to make a change for the people. V for Vendetta, 2005, is futuristic representation of a dystopian Britain. A very accurate prediction, in fact, as in the film media manipulation is a key theme as the media is what caused the citizens to be oppressed and become prisoners within society; sounding familiar as currently within our society, media is one of the most important factors for our society to be able to run, we rely on media to keep us up to date and to show us rights and wrongs. The film is trying to convey the message that if we continue to allow ourselves to be empowered then  we will become a society of oppression, the film shows us that if we want change we just need to band together to make a change, before we get treated like prisoners and loose our free will.

Theme 1: 

P: revenge

E: V seeking personal revenge 

A: he ends updating after succeeding with revenge

S: once he has revenge he can finally be at peace and all the evil will have been destroyed

Theme 2:

P: media manipulation 

E: voice of London (Prothero)

A: everyone follows media like its a religion until V kills Prothero then people begin to rebel and disagree

S: that if we continue to believe an worship the media we will be oppressed by it and our government

Theme 3: 

P: oppression

E: curfew

A: citizens let themselves be oppressed after believing lies from government (Sutler) and the media

S: don't let us be run by lies and manipulative people aka government an media

Theme 4:

P: fascism

E: Sutler

A: sutler gained power through lies and fear not respect, manipulation

S: don't believe lies you hear, don't trust until you know facts and don't live fearing government or power 

Theme 5: 

P: revolution 

E: end scene

A: everyone is V, everyone stands together to make a change after influence from one man with revenge on his mind

S: that citizens need the extra push to be able to stand together, always need someone to be in charge, but when they all stick together no one can harm them 

Conclusion: 

-recount on themes

-recount on messages

-go back to original thesis

-recap essay and points

Today's notes on themes

V for vendetta

While watching v for vendetta, I Noticed the various hidden meanings and messages within the film. For example at the beginning of the film v and evey are both getting ready and watching the same program (voice of London). Both v and evey are putting on 'masks' (v literal, evey figurative: make up) and both clearly disagree with the voice of London. The camera cuts between evey and v, each thing one does the other mirrors it. Both turn off the tv at the same time with the same look of disgust. I can't remember what was said but while the voice of London talked at something he said both evey and v looked at the tv. 

The way that the camera cuts between evey and v throughout various parts of the film show similarities between them both. For example, when evey was on the roof with v the camera continually cut to the image of v mirroring what evey is doing, both done these actions after they lost everything.

When v killed voice of london in the shower I couldn't help but compare it to the famous shower scene in psycho. The way v actually spoke rather than just killed him and waited till he was out of the shower, whereas in psycho he just killed her, no dialogue. Shows that its more direct and personal in v for vendetta.

Notes on characters

V for vendetta and children of men

I haven't had a chance to watch either films as I am waiting for them to come as I couldn't find any other ways to watch them. However from what others have told me, both films follow the stereotypes, females being weak but getting stronger by the end after spending time with the "hero". V can be compared to batman in a way as he is doing technical good by doing technical bad and isn't recognised as the good guy until he "dies" (quotation marks due to batman not technically dying). I plan on watching the films at the weekend and will compare them to each other.